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They found the cake wrapped in paper, inside an iron alloy tin, while they were working inside a hut in Cape Adare which was built by Norwegian Carsten Borchgrevink’s team in 1899.

Captain Scott, who was said to be fond of fruit cake, used the hut in 1911 while he was on his final expediton.

"With just two weeks to go on the conservation of the Cape Adare artefacts, finding such a perfectly preserved fruitcake in amongst the last handful of unidentified and severely corroded tins was quite a surprise," said Lizzie Meek, conservation manager for artefacts at the Antarctic Heritage Trust.

Captain Scott and his team on the Terra Nova Expedition of 1911 in Antarctica (Image: Publicity Picture)

"It’s an ideal high-energy food for Antarctic conditions, and is still a favourite item on modern trips to the ice."

The New Zealand based trust will return the fruit cake to the hut after it has carried out its conservation work.

Unfortunately, Captain Scott never got the chance to eat it, as he died in March 1912 with two of his companions, on his return journey from the South Pole.

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